E-Mail This Article to a Friend League leaders (continued)
	The Cape Cod League IN HIS BOOK The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Dream (Da Capo, 2004), Jim Collins, a former star at Dartmouth who grew up wanting "nothing more than to play second base for the Boston Red Sox," spends several months immersing himself in the daily drudgery and nightly glories of Cape Cod League baseball. It’s a different game out there by the sand and surf. Collins describes a kinetic tableau under evening lights: The players, smooth, graceful, beautiful, drew my eye. I felt old longings rise.... They weren’t dispassionate, nearly robotic, major leaguers. Nor were hey hard-edged minor leaguers fighting for survival. These were kids, full of life — some of them laughing, some scared, some swaggering with the absolute sureness of invincibility. And they were phenomenally talented. The Cape Cod League was formed in 1885 as an informal spectacle, a cheap entertainment for indolent summer folk. It still pretty much is. But it’s also a lot more. These days, the league is NCAA-sanctioned, a place for the best college players to hone their skills during their "off season" while being cooled by sea fog and salt breezes. Comprising 10 teams scattered about the Bay State’s flexing arm, the league serves as a feeder for the minor leagues. The high-school baseball diamonds and seaside sandlots are haunted by scores of scouts, their notebooks at the ready, their radar guns poised. It’s said that one in six pro ball players has spent a summer on the Cape, and some of them — including Jason Varitek, Nomar Garciaparra, Mo Vaughn, and Carlton Fisk — have ended up superstars, even Hall of Famers. That’s the thrill of attending these lazy games on hazy summer days. Those rangy college kids scampering on dusty high-school ball fields might some day be signing multi-million-dollar contracts, if any of the agents lurking beneath the shady pines happen to like what they see. Collins’s book follows the ups and downs of the Chatham Athletics for a whole season. There are also teams in Bourne, Brewster, Cotuit, Falmouth, Harwich, Hyannis, Orleans, and Yarmouth. Ballplayers sleep in local residents’ guest rooms, work at menial jobs at local businesses during the day, and otherwise ingratiate themselves with their communities for three months. But for all the informality and fun, this is serious business for some of these players. As Collins puts it, these several months spent living as locals may just be "the most crucial summer of some young men’s lives." He writes: "About half of the players on the field that night would take the next step — from the top level of the best amateur pyramid in the country to the bottom of the much smaller pyramid of the pros. A handful would make it all the way to the top. The question hanging in that soft summer air was who." It’s worth a road trip down to the Cape to see what it’s all about. If you time it right, you could even do a tour, taking in a few innings of several games in a day. Here are the teams and where they play. • Bourne Braves: Coady School Field, over Bourne Bridge, Bourne. • Brewster Whitecaps: Cape Cod Tech Field, Rt. 124, Harwich. • Chatham Athletics: Veteran’s Field, Depot Station, Chatham. • Cotuit Kettleers: Lowell Park, Lowell Street, Cotuit. • Falmouth Commodores: Guv Fuller Field, Main Street, Falmouth Center. • Harwich Mariners: Whitehouse Field, Oak Street, Harwich Center. • Hyannis Mets: McKeon Field, High School Road, Hyannis. • Orleans Cardinals: Eldredge Park, Rte. 28, Orleans. • Wareham Gatemen: Clem Spillane Field, Rt. 6, Wareham. • Yarmouth Dennis Red Sox: Dennis-Yarmouth High School Field, Station Avenue, S. Yarmouth. Visit Capecodbaseball.org for season previews for each team. Opening day is June 16. Be there. — MM

NEW YORK PENN LEAGUE (SINGLE-A)

Lowell Spinners (www.lowellspinners.com)

LeLacheur Park, 450 Aiken Street, Lowell; (978) 459-2255

As team mascots go, the Canaligator is as good as it gets. With a super-size snout lined with non-threatening teeth, decked out in an oversize game jersey and his Spinners cap askew, he’s the coolest canal-dwelling alligator in the Commonwealth. Born and bred in Lowell’s six miles of mill canals, he’s made cheering on the Red Sox’ Single-A affiliate his life’s work. And they make it easy for him. The Spinners are as good a showcase as any for the Red Sox’ young talent. And I do mean young. NYP League rules mandate that no team can have more than four players who are 23 or older, and no team is allowed more than three players with four years of minor-league experience. But that hardly means every player is many years away from the big show. Pitcher Cla Meredith was in Lowell just last season, and he worked his way quickly through Double- and Triple-A, making his major-league debut at Fenway last month. The Spinners’ season starts June 21, and there are plenty of tickets left. Beginning this season, select games will also be broadcast on WUML 91.5 FM.

Vermont Expos (www.vermontexpos.com)

Centennial Field, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont; (802) 655-4200

It all seemed so perfect when the Expos were affiliated with their neighbor to the north. Burlington and Montreal are just two and half hours from each other, and those friendly Canadian border guards were always willing to let fans into the country with nary a hassle so they could see Les Expos play in that horror show, Olympic Stadium. But, sadly, Montreal has never had much luck with baseball. For instance, their ’94 squad — featuring a 22-year-old pitcher named Pedro Martinez — had an excellent chance of winning the World Series, but their chances were cut off at the knees thanks to the players’ strike. And last year, of course, it all went south, literally and figuratively, and Montreal lost its team. (A visit last month, however, confirms that tourist shops still sell jerseys at cut-rate prices; factor in the exchange rate, and that’s quite a steal!) So now the Vermont Expos farm down to the Washington Nationals. But they’re still called the Expos. And they’re still a fine team in their own right. So what if fans will have to travel all the way to the Mid-Atlantic to see their favorite players once they make it to the big club? That’s all the more reason to catch as many games as you can and see them while they’re still here in New England.

ATLANTIC LEAGUE (INDEPENDENT)

Bridgeport Bluefish (www.bridgeportbluefish.com)

The Ballpark at Harbor Yard, 500 Main Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut; (203) 345-4800

The Atlantic League is an independent baseball league. Like the Can-Am League (see below), it has no affiliation with the MLB. But that means you’re seeing the game in its purest form: players playing because they love to play. There are no big contracts here, no groupies, and few television cameras. These guys — some shooting for long-shot spots in the major leagues, some former major-leaguers looking to remain in the game as long as possible — slog through the season at minimal pay because they need the game of baseball more than it needs them. But they also do it for you, the fans. And that’s exactly why you should pay to see them play. As of press time, the Bluefish were in first place in the Atlantic’s Northern Division by a comfortable margin. And they’re playing to win. (Their 357-254 record since the Atlantic League’s inception, in 1998, is the best in the league.) They also play in a pleasant, verdant ballpark, overlooking Bridgeport’s harbor. Can you think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon?

Nashua Pride (www.nashuapride.com)

Holman Stadium, 67 Amherst Street, Nashua, New Hampshire; (603) 883-2255

The Bluefish, alas, are located in southern Connecticut, the periphery of Yankees territory. The Nashua Pride, on the other hand, are located snug in the heart of Red Sox Nation, barely an hour’s drive from Boston. The team plays in historic Holman Stadium, built in 1937. That’s where baseball’s first integrated team took the field in 1946, with future superstars Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe playing for Branch Rickey’s Nashua Dodgers. These days the Pride take pride in doing good. They’re active in the community, putting on baseball clinics for six- to 13-year-olds and letting kids camp out on the field after games. You can even book the team’s hugely popular manager — former Red Sox third baseman and manager Butch Hobson — for motivational-speaking appearances. As an erstwhile major-leaguer (who, as a star football player at Alabama, was coached by the legendary Bear Bryant), Hobson knows sports inside out, and knows how to instill a sense of motivation and work ethic into aspiring athletes of all ages.

CAN-AM LEAGUE (INDEPENDENT)

Brockton Rox (www.brocktonrox.com)

Campanelli Stadium, 1 Lexington Avenue, Brockton; (508) 559-7000

Oil Can Boyd is skinny. Oil Can Boyd gives good quotes. Oil Can Boyd got his name because he used to drink a lot of beer (out of "oil cans," in the lingo of his native Meridian, Mississippi). Oil Can Boyd should have pitched game seven of the 1986 World Series. (We might have won!) And Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd may be 45 years old, but he’s making a comeback. Right now, he’s pitching for the Brockton Rox — whose minority owners include Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels and show alums Bill Murray and Jimmy Fallon — but he’s got his eyes on greener pastures: he wants to pitch for the Red Sox again. "I’ll go to Pawtucket for a couple hours," he told ESPN recently, envisioning his upward trajectory, "and then let’s go get the Yankees." And why the hell not? Stranger things have happened — and the Can is one strange dude. But until that day arrives, Brockton is the place to be.

New Haven County Cutters (www.cuttersbaseball.com)

Yale Field, 252 Derby Avenue, West Haven, Connecticut; (203) 777-5636

The field trod upon by members of the Cutters’ starting nine has a long and blue-blooded pedigree. The Yale Bulldogs began playing there in 1902 (that’s a whole year before the Red Sox had even won their first World Series!). Many major-league teams played there prior to World War II as well. And Babe Ruth himself once remarked that the field’s playing surface was among the best he’d ever seen. (He was there, in 1948, to present a copy of his autobiography to the captain of the Yale squad, a hale and hearty lad by the name of George Herbert Walker Bush.) These days, the on-field goings-on may not be quite as illustrious as in days past, but they’re still exciting. Be there on June 20 for the Home Run Derby — not just to watch, to participate. Go ahead, take your cuts! Think you can hack it?

North Shore Spirit (www.northshorespirit.com)

Fraser Field, Western Avenue, Lynn; (781) 592-0007

The late Dick "The Monster" Radatz, the man-mountain former Red Sox reliever (’62-’66) who ranks second on the team’s all-time saves list — and who once hurled 15 innings over two consecutive games — was the pitching coach for the North Shore Spirit until his tragic death this past March. The Spirit paid tribute to him on June 8, retiring #17 and — of course — handing out bobble-head dolls in his image. Somewhere in that big bullpen in the sky, the big man is smiling. But life goes on, and this year the Spirit look to turn in a season Radatz would be proud of. With season-ticket plans starting as low as $300, you can be there to see it happen, all summer long.

Worcester Tornadoes (www.worcestertornadoes.com)

Fitton Field, Fitton Avenue, Worcester; (508) 792-2288

An interesting sideshow to this summer’s Can-Am League season will be watching how Oil Can Boyd fares in the Rox’ rotation. An even more interesting twist to that subplot will be watching the reaction of Rich Gedman, the Can’s former Red Sox batterymate and new manager of the Tornadoes, the newest Can-Am team and one of the Rox’ intra-state rivals. Gedman, who previously coached for the North Shore Spirit, has the right approach to his position. "I have just come to enjoy the people and the players," he told the Boston Herald last month, adding, "I actually enjoy the fans more now as a coach than I did as a player. They are still the ones who make the game." Still, while he realizes the game at the independent-league level is played for fun and for the fans, he also knows that there are gutsy striving kids on the team who might just make it to the next level — and he, of course, hopes they do. "I tell all these kids that it may sound funny, but I don’t want you to stay here."

Mike Miliard can be reached at mmiliard[a]phx.com